Never Too Late To Learn
by Ilerya82
Summary: Summary: A little bit of everything a McKeller fan can dream of. Dedicated to the Keller/McKay thread on the Gate World forums This is what you get when McKeller bugs and fic bunnies bite! Enjoy! Spoilers: Season 5, in general.


**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Stargate: Atlantis, but I don't... Otherwise, this would not be a fanfic, now would it? **

**Spoilers: Season 5, in general.**

**Summary: A little bit of everything a McKeller fan can dream of. Dedicated to the Keller/McKay thread on the Gate World forums ~ This is what you get when McKeller bugs and fic bunnies bite! Enjoy! **

**Never Too Late To Learn**

They'd shared glances, there had to be something to that, right? Well, he'd glanced at her- and more often than not, she'd caught him when his eyes lingered too long. There would always be an awkward little smile on his part, and he was sure he could feel a blush rising in his cheeks as he'd look away. Her smile however, was soft, subtle, genuine. Or maybe his imagination was running wild on him again. She was smart, beautiful, funny, and way too attractive to be bothered with a cantankerous astrophysicist like Dr. Rodney McKay.

Rodney sighed as he took a solitary seat at the back of the Commissary; the room was virtually empty, but he really didn't feel like talking to anyone at all right now. The refuge he sought was found in a dark corner near the back of the room. It was late and Rodney was taking his supper alone, as he was wont to do. At lunch, eating with the Team seemed the natural thing to do. They were "on duty," after all. To eat with them at dinner seemed, well, intrusive and a tad pathetic. His friends would have welcomed his company, but stubbornness kept him from accepting their invitations. Off duty hours were meant to be spent with loved ones, and his friends all had people they could turn to in those moments. So, Rodney ate dinner as always, later than the rest of the city and lost in his solitary reverie in a dark corner of the mess with his tablet.

Tonight's fare wasn't any more spectacular than other days, but Rodney was exceptionally hungry. Aside from the numerous chocolate bar wrappers laying around the lab, he wouldn't have known he had eaten at all today the way his stomach grumbled. Well, that and the memories of the Almond biscotti and coffee he'd enjoyed earlier, which had made him drool all through the tests on the upgrades to the Puddle Jumper's shields. While there was nothing spectacular about the mashed potatoes, veggies and the mystery meat on his tray, Rodney's mouth watered in seeming starvation.

Tablet in one hand and fork in the other, Rodney began to devour his dinner as he read. Though he had to reread several passages of the test notes as his mind kept wandering into the distraction of Dr. Jennifer Keller's gorgeous blue-green eyes. He was honestly shoveling the food into his mouth so quickly that it was a miracle he had tasted any of it at all. Or that he hadn't choked!

"Mind if I join you?" an angelic voice broke his solitary reverie. The shock of the intrusion caused him to inhale instead of swallow the mouthful of mashed potato mush and he coughed as he began to choke on his food. His face began to turn an unmanly shade of crimson as he brought a fist to his chest and began to pound on it hoping to dislodge the dinner he had inadvertently inhaled.

"Rodney, are you okay?" Dr. Jennifer Keller said, her voice laden with concern. Dropping her tray onto the table, she moved quickly to his side as he shook his head in an emphatic "No." He could feel Jennifer's arms snake around him from behind and he was surprised that she could lift his weight with her tiny frame. Much stronger than she looked, she hauled his weight upright and began to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. After only a few compressions, the glob of chicken and potato that had wedge in Rodney's throat had cleared and landed smack dab in the middle of the seat back opposite him. A dry cough lingered after the offending matter had been cleared from his esophagus.

"Je- Jennifer -" he coughed again, the constriction of his throat intensifying the rough, coarse feeling that remained. Wits slowly returning, Rodney's eyes peeked around them. Thankfully the handful of diners in the mess hadn't noticed the embarrassing scene that had just taken place. Turning his attentions back to the lovely Doctor, Rodney's baby blues sought hers. He found the genuine concern that lay within them. Jennifer's gently placed her hand on Rodney's shoulder and stroked his upper arm gently, offering him comfort and sending shivers down his spine.

"God McKay, I only wanted to eat with you, not kill you!" The corners of her mouth turned upward with the hint of jest in her tone. Rodney felt the heat rising to his cheeks.

_**Oh, real smooth genius!**_

"Um, well, of course-" Another cough. "-but we might, um... We might want to, um.."

He gestured nervously at the blob of mush recently freed from his airway. Jennifer smirked at the offending mush and reached for a few napkins to wipe the chair back clean. Rodney, struck by the embarrassment of the situation, tugged at the hem of his shirt boyishly and then surprised himself. As she turned towards the chair, Rodney grabbed Jennifer's hands, albeit awkwardly, and held them in his own.

"Please- um, let me just-" Rodney was rarely at a loss for words, but the feeling of her delicate hands in his own... Surprised by the contact, a blush spread like wildfire across her cheeks and Rodney was sure that heat was echoed in his own.

Ever composed, Jennifer pressed the napkins into his palms but didn't pull free of his grip. She was still smiling and hadn't pulled back! Rodney quickly averted his eyes and pulled back from her touch. Her gentle hands that displayed such care and compassion. Her delicate hands, like those of an artist, that sent chills up and down his spine with even the slightest bit of accidental contact.

Rodney shook himself back to reality and the blob of offending mush that _definitely_ had to go. He worked diligently to clear away any trace of his dinner time faux pas. When the chair seemed relatively clean, the germaphobe in him couldn't bear the thought of any part of her body coming in contact with anything he might have missed. He immediately swapped out the chair for one at the opposing table and held it out for her.

"Why thank you, kind sir!"

"Welcome," he mumbled, the sound just barely above a whisper, as Jennifer sat down. He quickly returned to his own seat and marveled at the woman seated across from him. Was she really there? Was he dreaming? Or had he really choked to death on that mashed potato/chicken mush? He placed a napkin in his lap, taking that opportunity to pinch himself.

_**Ow! Definitely awake... Imagining? **_Rodney closed his eyes tightly for a minute as he looked down at his plate of quickly cooling mashed potatoes. Sheepishly, he glanced back up at the beauty opposite him. _**Huh, not imagining things...**_

Leaning over, he picked up a heaping forkful of food from his plate and went to shovel it into his mouth. He stopped short when he heard her giggle; it was like music to his ears. Replacing the fork on the edge of his plate, Rodney astounded himself by looking Jennifer straight in the eyes with a sheepish smile.

"Well, now I understand how you managed to choke on mashed potatoes!" There was that giggle again. The sound was like tinkling bells, and it made her eyes seem to sparkle and dance before him. Rodney couldn't believe he'd never notice that before.

"To be fair, I wasn't really expecting anyone to come to this, well, um, table." pausing for a moment, Rodney knew that hadn't come out quite right. He tried again, "Some times you need a little, uh, distraction with you dinner." It was more like a mumble than a coherent thought. But she was still smiling. It looked a touch sadder now at his lonely confession, but it was still a smile and she was still there with him, and she hadn't gotten up and ran from the table screaming. What happened next equated to one of the most surprising moments of his life; Jennifer reached across the table and took his hand. Dumbfounded by the touch, Rodney could only stare as she brushed the back of his hand with the pad of her thumb in soft circles and gave his palm a gentle squeeze.

"You don't have to be alone you know." Jennifer replied, a sultry tone dripping from her voice. It shook a little as something long buried came to the surface.

The sound was like a mass eruption, though it was barely more than a whisper. Searching her eyes for the answer to his unasked question, not that he thought he would be able to recognize it if he found it, Rodney did what he knew best. He tested out a move that Sheppard had taught him over beer on the pier.

"Yeah, I know. Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon – I could have all the company I could stand."

He could hear John's advice in his ears.

"_When in doubt, make a little joke. Force he into giving you your answer by joking about it."_

"Rodney!" frustration evident in her voice, Jennifer countered, "Boy, you really aren't good at this, are you?"

With a grin, Rodney said the words that would colour their relationship, "Yeah, but it's never too late to learn."

~Fin~


End file.
